The Birth of a Flower
by hawkeyeflame1921
Summary: Spin off (of my fic Bad Idea) short story about a beautiful flower child from the womb to the first few years of life during the last year of the Ishvalan War of Extermination. The mother, Alice, is all alone due to the war, but she decides to give her little flower her best chance. Rated for language (not smut).
1. Chapter 1: Good News or Bad News

**Birth of a Flower**

 **A/N: In celebration of the birthday of Violet's creator (my rl best friend), I've decided to write about the birth of Violet Kimblee. This is set a few years before my story Bad Idea begins (not long after Solf J Kimblee was sent to Ishval during the war).**  
 **For those of you who don't know, Alice (my OC and the MC of the story)was married to the infamous Crimson Alchemist, Solf J Kimblee, who she grew up with and has known for most of her life. Another important fact to know before I start this: Alice is the granddaughter of General Grumman (who raised her but kept her identity a secret per her request), and cousin of Riza Hawkeye (their mothers are the children of General Grumman).**  
 **Now that you have the main background info needed, the story shall begin!**  
 **Side note: Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think in the reviews, and if you're interested in seeing where the story goes after this, it's connected to my fic Bad Idea (I also have a kind of background fic that's just Alice and Solf's friendship/relationship over the years, but that hasn't been posted yet).**  
 **ANYWHORE, let the story begin!**

 **Chapter 1: Good News or Bad News**

It had only been a few days since the State Alchemists were sent to Ishval to quickly end the war. The Führer decided to wait to send State Alchemists until he was ready to pass Executive Order 3066, and Alice knew what that meant.  
The slender yet muscular woman with blood red hair and ice blue eyes was alone in her apartment. There were typical household furniture and appliances, all in black and red, but even so, she felt as though she were in an empty room with nothing but loneliness surrounding her. For most of the time that she had alone, she stayed in bed, hiding from the world under her vantablack blanket and dark red sheets.  
This particular day, however, was different. When she slowly woke up, something felt rather odd. She wasn't quite sure what it was. Was it sickness? Possibly a hangover? Or maybe it was something else; something that she hadn't thought of. The strange feeling suddenly turned into nausea, and she ran to the bathroom, throwing up as soon as she got to the toilet.  
"What the hell," she muttered between vomiting. Once her stomach was empty and the nausea stopped, the pale woman went to the sink to brush her teeth.  
After carefully brushing her teeth, Alice looked in the mirror and noticed something odd. Her canine teeth were sharper than usual; they were even more sharp than those of wolves. Her eyes instantly widened in horror when she thought about the cause. Only three things could cause her teeth to sharpen: menstruation, thirst, or the thing she suspected…pregnancy.  
"FUCK," she yelled before running back into her room and throwing the sheets off of the bed to check for stains. "Oh no," she said, and repeated the word "no," as she ran back into the bathroom and searched through all of the medication in the cabinets until she found it: the small, circular pill case. She frantically opened the case and counted the pills. "Shit," she yelled when she realized that she hadn't taken the pills in weeks.  
Alice hurried to the phone that was mounted on the living room wall, her hair flowing behind her like a sea of blood. She quickly picked up the phone, but paused when she was about to type the number. She slowly put the phone back on the hook then leaned on the wall, sliding down it as her eyes filled with tears. Like a scared and depressed little girl, she sat there with her knees to her large breasts, and laid her head down on her knees, letting the tears flow down her cheeks and onto her chest and legs.  
The two people that were the dearest to her were gone. They had always been there if she ever needed anything, especially when her depression hit her like an anvil falling from the sky. Now she needed them more than she had in years, but for once they weren't there. She could not even communicate with them, and had no one else to turn to with her concerns. For the first time since she was about sixteen, Alice felt like a scared little girl with no way to fix her problems, and she hated it. She hated her depression, and hated herself for having it, and for causing such a disaster.  
As her thoughts grew darker, she got up and reached for a bottle of tequila from the minibar next to the couch. She stopped, remembering what the problem was. When she put down the bottle, she decided to get dressed and go to the pharmacy that was just two blocks away.  
Before putting on any clothes, Alice looked at herself in the long mirror that was leaning against a wall in the bedroom. She was wearing one of her husband's white button down shirts and nothing else, so she unbuttoned the shirt and let it slide off of her body. She turned to the side and looked carefully at her abdomen, hoping to see nothing different. After making sure that there was no size difference, she decided to go with a more relaxed and humble look, so she put on her tight black leather pants with a black belt that had four chains linking the belt to a small leather strap on her left thigh. For a shirt, she put on a black bra and slipped on a long sleeved black fishnet shirt that had many holes. The bottom of the shirt had been ripped off, so the shirt ended just a few centimeters past her bra, showing off her black gold belly ring that had a simple black ball on the top, and a sapphire jewel on the bottom with a small black dagger charm, with two roses next to the handle, hanging from it.  
Alice put on her black collar with silver spikes, and slid on her thigh-high black laced boots, which had seven inch high heels. She quickly brushed her long red hair, and put on her makeup. When she finished, she put her wallet and keys in her bra, then walked to the store.  
She grabbed handfuls of packages of pregnancy tests and took them to the counter, where she managed to flirt with the cashier enough to distract him from noticing what she was buying.  
"Here," she seductively said as she handed the cashier a wad of cash. "Keep the change." She winked and grabbed her bags, walked home.

"Fuck," Alice yelled, throwing the last pregnancy test at the wall. As she feared, all fifty seven pregnancy tests that she had gotten were positive. With her last hope destroyed, she sat on the bathroom floor and cried. "Why am I so stupid," she said as she sobbed.  
Hours went by, though to Alice it felt like days, and she managed to cry herself to sleep with her head laying her arm on the edge of the bathtub. In her dreams, she saw a vision of herself around eight months into her pregnancy. She was wearing a long lavender dress that flowed to the ground and covered her bare feet on the bright dark grass. Judging by the weather, it was a little after the beginning of autumn. As she walked with the wind blowing her hair and dress backwards. She soon reached an open field in the center of the forest. Her dream was so vivid that she could almost feel the bright green grass under her feet as she walked.  
Once she reached the center of the field she sat down, now surrounded by blooming violets. She had not realized that she had been smiling the entire time until she reached for a violet and smelled it. The smell was sweet and subtle with a small hint of blood. The scent and beauty of the violets filled her with joy and she plucked a few more of the darkest violets to make a crown that perfectly fit on her head, making her smile more. She made a much smaller crown out of the brightest violets near her, and gently placed it on her now very large stomach.  
"I love you," Alice said with a smile, in her dream world as she wrapped her arms around her stomach. After that, everything went black as a telephone rang loudly in a distance.


	2. Chapter 2: The First Announcement

**Birth**  
style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 24pt; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-font-kerning: none; color: rgb(148, 55, 255); -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(148, 55, 255);"of **a Flower**

 **A/N: So I originally meant for this to be a one-shot, but once I had started writing the previous chapter, I realized that there's way too much to put in one chapter, so this will still be a short fic, but it'll be a couple of chapters, though I'm not sure how many.**

 **I know the first chapter had a lot of feels; unfortunately, the entire story  
will have feels. I would make it happier if I could, but then it wouldn't be true to the story.**

 **Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think in the reviews. :)**

 **Chapter 2** **: The First Announcement**

Alice's eyes slowly opened as she woke up from her bizarre yet joyful dream. It took her a few seconds to notice the phone ringing,  
but when she did, she got up and went into the living room to answer it.

"Hello?" She knew that only one person would call her then, and wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him about the pregnancy.

"Hi," a cheerful voice said. "Are you busy?"

"Not really. Why; is there something wrong," she asked.

"Not at all," the man, General Grumman, said. "Actually, I was calling to check on you."

"Thanks, but I'm fine," she very convincingly lied.

"Good," he cheerfully replied. "When are you coming to visit?"

"I don't know," Alice replied, "it may not be for a while."

"Thats no good," the General replied. "You should come here within the month. How's next week sound?"

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to leave so soon," she said as though everything was normal. She had learned to hide her emotions well  
long ago, and even the General could hardly ever tell when she was lying.

"Nonsense," he replied in his usual cheerful tone, "I insist, and I've already made plans."

"And if I don't come," she asked.

"Then I'll just have to go to you," General Grumman said.

"Fine," Alice reluctantly said. "I'll be there by Friday."

"Great; I'll see you then," he replied.

"Sure, see you then," Alice replied before hanging up. "Damnit, now I have to tell him soon," she said to herself.

Alice put her wallet and keys her pockets with slight difficulty, since her pants were tight. She then left her apartment and went  
to the store that she usually shops in, Struck by Lightning. The store had royal purple walls with black corsets painted side by side in the center of each wall, and black paint lining the top and bottom of each wall. When Alice walked in, she smiled  
at the shopkeeper and said, "Hey, Charlotte."

Charlotte was about average height, and wore a black short shelved shirt with a slightly darker black under-bust corset that had silver  
swirls. Her short black hair flowed down to her tan jaw, and had a streak of lime green hair blended with her black hair in the front on the side that she had her hair parted. Her black tulle skirt was mid-thigh length, and her black and bright green  
knee-high socks were slightly longer than her black boots that had buckles across the front of them. She smiled when she saw Alice, and cheerfully said, "hey Ali, lookin' for something new or a replacement?"

"New, but not corsets this time," Alice replied.

"What's wrong," the concerned shopkeeper asked. "Feelin' sick?"

"Something like that," Alice said. "Got anything new?"

"Don't I always," Charolette jokingly replied. She pulled out a very large binder from under the counter. "These are just designs for  
now, but I can make any of them for you."

"Thanks," Alice said with a smile as she turned the book around so she could see it, and began looking at the designs.

"So whatcha lookin' for this time? Latex or belly dancing outfits," Charolette asked as she watched Alice look through the design book.

"Neither," Alice replied without looking away from the book. "I'm thinking something a little more conservative, like what I'm wearing  
now."

"Conservative? What for," Charolette curiously asked.

"I'll tell you later, but I do need something loose or stretchy," Alice said. "Maybe something like this." She turned the book around  
for Charolette to see the drawing of a large black tank top with a bright blue lightning bolt on the front, paired with a mid-thigh length black leather skirt.

"I have dozens of designs like that. Should I make all of them for you," Charolette replied.

"That works," Alice said, "but I'll need some in larger sizes later on, so just make enough for a couple of months."

"Oh?" Charolette raised an eyebrow. "Why do you need bigger sizes?"

Alice sighed. "I guess I have to tell you, since you make my clothes," she said then paused. "I'm pregnant," she said, knowing that  
no one else could here her since they were alone in the store.

Charolette's eyes grew wide. "What the fuck? Are you sure?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Alice replied.

"Does Solf know," Charolette asked. "It is Solf's, right?"

"Of course it's his, and no." Alice tried to hide her emotions, but Charolette knew that she was sad. "He left for Ishval a few days  
ago, and I just found out today.."

"And you haven't called or sent a letter," Charolette asked, still in shock.

"You know they'd be tracking it," Alice replied. "You're the only one I've told. Ri is at war too, so I can't tell her either."

"What about," Charolette started to ask.

"No," Alice interrupted. "I don't look forward to telling him, but I have to go visit him next week."

"Then I'll make it a rush order and have some of it sent to my East store," Charolette said.

"Thank you," Alice said. "Here's the first payment." She pulled a very large wad of cash from her wallet and placed it on the counter.  
"I'll give you more when I come to pick them up."

Charolette quickly counted the cash as Alice walked to the door. "Wait, this is way too much," she said.

"It's not nearly enough," Alice said, briefly turning to look at her with a smile. "Call me when I can pick some of them up," and with  
that, she disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3: Welcome Home

**Birth ofa Flower**

 **A/N: I hope you're liking this so far, and please let me know what you do/don't like in your reviews. I'm REALLY bad at updating frequently, so SORRY it it takes a while, but please be patient with me. Things will get more interesting as the story goes on, although there will be many feels moments.**

 **Also, as a spoiler, you might need tissues for this if you cry easily.**

 **Thank you for reading! Also, thank you for your favorites/follows/reviews.**

 **Chapter 3: Welcome Home**

It had been almost a week later, and Alice was packing her things. She sighed and gently placed her hand on her stomach, which hadjust started to grow larger. "I guess it's been longer than I thought," though she wasn't entirely sure of that.

Alice went to her bathroom and noticed that her birth control was sitting on the counter. She picked up the small package and lookedat the pick up date on the label. "Shit. How the fuck did I not notice that I haven't taken this for over a month,"  
she said to herself.

Frustrated at herself for not realizing that, Alice threw the bottle, making it hit the wall, which cracked the plastic bottle. Sheplaced her hands on the counter and leaned forward over the sink, looking at herself in the mirror. "How could I have  
been so stupid," she said in a defeated tone.

Alice sighed, then went back to her room and continued packing. When she went to her closet to get another outfit, she noticed thatthe door to Solf's closet was still slightly open. She opened the door fully, knowing that she shouldn't have. The  
first things she saw were his suits, which brought back her pent up emotions, but she looked past the suits, hiding her pain once again,and saw some old t-shirts. She picked up the shirts and packed a few, knowing that she would need a few larger  
shirts soon.

Once her packing was done, Alice zipped up her bags and sat them by the door before getting ready to leave. She looked at her closet,trying to decide what to wear. Since most of her shirts and dresses were corsets, she had very few options. She  
decided to put on a black garter, making sure that it wasn't too tight, and connected them to a pair of fishnet stockings. She then pickedup a simple black dress that was just barely shorter than her typical dresses and skirts. It had sheer  
black lace as short sleeves and a neckline, and as usual, the dress clung to her large chest, with a 3 inch strip of dark red lace right the lace down, the dress flowed just loosely enough to hide her growing stomach.

Alice pulled on her flat black combat boots, and grabbed a small black backpack-purse, which had a little red raven on the clasp. Shesighed, and swiftly put on her makeup, being extra careful about hiding any signs of sickness or depression, then  
went to the front door and grabbed her bags. She took one last look back, and somehow managed to hold her tears back before turning offthe last light in the apartment, and leaving with her luggage.

During her train ride from Central City to East City, Alice tried to figure out how to tell her grandfather that she is pregnant. Shehad a whole section of the car to herself, but she could hear a baby crying in the adjacent section. The screams  
of babies had always made her cringe, but not this time; this time it nearly gave her an anxiety attack as she thought, "that's whatI'll be dealing soon," and "how am I supposed to deal with that on a daily basis?"

Alice sighed and leaned back. She tried to calm herself down by looking out the window, watching the landscape. She looked up at thesky, and saw a cloud in the shape of a flower. Normally, she would ignore it, but this time she had to look back  
at it. The second time she saw the cloud, it had become part of another cloud. "Great,now I'm seeing things," she mumbled to herself as her gaze lowered to the trees. "What the hell am I supposed to do now," she thought. She pulled an art history  
book out of her bag and began reading to get her mind off of her worries.

Two and a half books later, the train finally came to a stop, and Alice put her books back in her bag. She stood, putting her backpackon, then grabbed her luggage and exited the train. As she walked through the train station, she ignored everyone,  
too lost in her thoughts to even notice anyone. When she finally looked around, she was standing outside of the train station, and therewas a taxi sitting in front of her.

"You Alice," the driver asked her.

"Yes," Alice replied. "Do you know where to go?"

"No, ma'am," the driver replied as he got out of the car. "All I was told was to pick you up," he said before pickingup her luggage and putting it in the trunk. He opened the back door for her and smiled.

"Alright, do you need directions or just an address," she asked as she got into the car.

"An address will do," the man cheerfully said before closing the door, then getting in the car.

Alice told the driver General Grumman's address, and they soon arrived. He got out of the car, then opened the door for Alice.

"Herewe are," he said with a smile before opening the trunk and taking her bags out.

"Thanks," she replied as she got out of the car. She looked at the white mansion and sighed. "I guess it's for the best,"she mumbled to herself.

"What," the cab driver asked, thinking that she was talking to him.

"Nothing," Alice said, looking at him. "Thanks," she said with a smile. "How much do I owe you?"

"Already paid for," he replied.

"Oh? Then here," she said, handing him a small wad of money. "I can take the bags from here." She picked up herbags while the cab driver stood in shock, counting the money she gave him.

"This is way too much; even more than the drive," he said, trying to hand the money back.

"Keep it," Alice replied, walking towards the mansion's front door, carrying her bags with ease.

"Wow," the man said to himself when she was almost at the door. "Wish I could, but oh well." He closed the trunk,then got back into his car and drove away, unable to stop thinking about Alice

Alice smirked when she heard him, and as soon as he was gone, she took a deep breath in and out before ringing the doorbell.

Hardly even a minute went by before the door opened, and Alice looked down to see her grandfather standing there with a big goofy smile.

"Alice, welcome home," he cheerfully said.

"Hey Gramps," Alice replied. "Seems like you've gotten shorter."

"Maybe a little," he said with a laugh, "but you've definitely gotten taller, or maybe it's the shoes."

"Likely both," she said with a smile then hugged him. "It's good to see you again, Gramps."

General Grumman's smile grew wider as he hugged his granddaughter. "It's been too long, Ali-Bat," he said. "Let me helpyou with those bags."

"You know that I can handle it," Alice replied, "but thanks. I'll find you when I'm done unpacking."

"Nonsense," General Grumman said. "I'll have the chef fix a snack for you, and I'll bring it to you myself when it'sdone."

Alice shrugged. "If you want to." She started walking towards the stairs, carrying her large luggage.

Once she was in her room with the door closed, General Grumman smiled and mumbled to himself, "she's finally home." He thenwent to the kitchen, and told the chef to make Alice's favorite snacks.

Meanwhile, Alice sat her bags down on the floor, looking around her room. Everything was exactly as she left it four years prior, fromher black furniture, to the clean black and red silk sheets on the bed, but the one thing that stood out to her  
the most was the thick black book that was sitting on her desk. Knowing that it wasn't there when she left, Alice walked to the desk tolook at the book. The black book was a photo album full of pictures of Solf and her throughout the years of  
their friendship and relationship. She picked up the book and sat on her bed, starting to cry as she looked at each picture.

Soon, the General knocked on Alice's door, saying, "Ali, I brought your favorites." Since she didn't open the door, he openedit himself. He saw her crying, so he swiftly rushed to her, sitting the tray on her nightstand. He hugged her and pulled  
a handkerchief out of his pocket, handing it to her. "Don't worry, he'll be back as soon as the war is over," he saidin a comforting tone.

"I-It's not just that," Alice said as she tried to stop her tears from falling. "I….I," she couldn't finish hersentence.

"Whatever it is, I'll help you," General Grumman said.

Alice couldn't hold back her tears as she mumbled, "I…I'm pregnant," which was muffled by the handkerchief that she was cryinginto.

"You're," General Grumman was too shocked to say it. He smiled, and cheerfully said, "that's wonderful news," buthe suddenly stopped, realizing what this meant. "Oh, I see the problem… well then, you will move back home, and I'll make sure that  
you're well taken care of. I'll have your doctor visit in the morning for a check up."

As he spoke, Alice leaned on his shoulder, soaking his shirt with her tears. "Thank you, Gramps" she said, her voice wasmuffled, "I love you."

The General was nearly in tears from hearing his little granddaughter say those words again. It had been many years since she saidit, but he always knew it to be true. "I love you too, Little Raven," he said, hugging her tightly. "Cry all you want;  
we can have the snacks later."


	4. Chapter 4 Returning

**Birth ofa Flower**

**A/N: Now that the most important announcement has been made, the story of the Little Flower continues, with lots of feels ahead. Grab your tissues, and either wipe off your makeup or make sure its waterproof because the feels just keep coming.**

 **Thank you for reading! Also, thank you for your favorites/follows/reviews! HAPPY FMA WEEK! I was going to post it on FMA day but didn't get to. Also, if I post another chapter of another one of my FMA fics tomorrow, I condisder that part of FMA week. XD**

 **Chapter 4: Returning**

Alice woke up from the same dream she had every time she fell asleep after finding out that she was pregnant. She curled up in herbed, pulling the blankets over her head, as she began to think; oddly, this time she did not feel like crying. Her  
thoughts were jumbled, and she didn't know what to do about anything.

Suddenly in the midst of the silence, the door opened. "Ali? What's wrong?" General Grumman walked into the room, and satnext to her on the bed. "Ali," he asked after getting no response. He gently pulled the blanket down so he could see her face.

"Hey," Alice quietly said. She turned around, still curled up, and looked up at him.

The General smiled softly; his precious little granddaughter looked just like she did when she was a child. "Don't worry, I'llmake sure that you have everything you need and want."

"Thank you." She laid her head on his lap, just as she did many years ago. "Do…do you really think I can do this,"she asked with a bit of fear seeping into her voice.

"You'll be a wonderful mother," he cheerfully replied. "I know you've never liked children, even when you were one,but you're a very smart, and very strong woman, and we both know that you can do whatever you wish to do, even this."

"Thanks, Gramps," Alice mumbled. "I'm sorry for not being here often…I should have been visiting as much as I could…Thankyou."

General Grumman smiled. "You don't have to thank me. You know that I'm always here for my precious Little Raven."

"I love you," she said, a few tears falling from her eyes.

"I love you too," he replied with a soft smile. "You know you'll always be my Little Raven."

"I'm sorry for always causing you so much trouble," Alice said as she tried to stop crying.

"You've always been a very independent person, that's all it was," the General replied with a smile. "You're just likeyour mother and aunt, and I'm sure your child will be the same way; it's in your blood."

"Do you really think she'll be like me," she asked in fear.

"She," he asked, to surprised to react to the rest of her statement.

"The last time I went to the doctor, he said that it was a little too soon to tell, so that's just my guess," Alice replied.

"Why is that? It could just as likely be a boy," the General said.

Alice shrugged. "I don't know; it's just…it's just a feeling."

"Hm," he said, "then I suppose it's true. Your mother had that same feeling about you."

"Apparently she didn't have many other feelings," Alice mumbled.

"Ali, you know that's not true," the General said.

"Let's not talk about it…" she gently closed her eyes.

He sighed. "Alright, then you should at least have breakfast."

"Sounds great," she replied, her eyes slightly opening. "Is it ready?"

The General laughed at how much her mood lightened. "It's all ready in the dining room."

Alice sighed, reluctantly sitting up. "Fine, I'll be there in a minute."

The General got up and walked to the door. "I'll see you in the dining room then," he said as he walked out before closingthe door behind him.

Alice sighed, and slowly got out of bed. She went into her bathroom, where she had left her robe. As she grabbed the robe off of itshook on the back of the bathroom door, she stopped, then looked to her right to see her reflection in the large mirror.  
The first thing that she noticed was that she was wearing one of Solf's old button down pajama shirts. She lifted the shirt tosee how much her stomach had grown.

Her once flat abs had become a slight round bump. She sighed as she gently placed her hand on her stomach, and mumbled, "I hope Grampsis right…" She then moved her hand off of her stomach while still looking in the mirror. When her shirt fell back  
down to cover her stomach, she thought she saw a picture of a violet on her stomach. Confused, she quickly lifted her shirtagain, but it was just her pale skin.

"Great," she sarcastically said, "I'm seeing things again." Alice looked away from the mirror, and put her blacksilk robe on. "Maybe I'm just too hungry."

Meanwhile, General Grumman was in his room, staring at an old picture. "Should I…no, the situation may be too delicate right now,"he thought aloud. "I'm sorry," he said as though he were talking to the people in the picture. He sighed and put the  
picture back in his nightstand drawer.

The short old General smiled as he thought about having his granddaughter home again, and soon becoming a great-grandfather. "Lookslike things here will be very interesting again."

He looked into his mirror, then picked up his hat that was sitting on his bed. He was so much happier than usual that he was hummingon the way to the dining room, without even noticing.

"Good morning, Sir," the maid said when he entered the dining room; "you're even more cheerful than usual." Shesmiled. "It's nice having her back, isn't it? Chef certainly agrees; he's made a feast for the two of you."

"Oh dear," General Grumman said, "I should have told him not to. I don't want to go to work tired from eating such ahuge meal." He laughed, and the maid laughed with him.

"A feast," Alice asked, slightly startling her grandfather and the maid.

"Good morning, Lady Alice," the maid said with a smile.

"You know you don't have to call me that," Alice replied. "Just call me Ali." She sat down on the chair to theright of her grandfather.

"Your doctor should be here in a few hours," the General said as the maid sat their plates down in front of them. "Unfortunately,I have to leave after we eat, but the servants will help you with whatever you need."

"Alright," Alice replied while the maid filled her glass with a dark red liquid. "I have plans for the afternoon, sothat works well."

"Be careful," the General said with a sigh. "You shouldn't do anything too strenuous."

"It's only been about a month and a half," she said. "Besides, I just have a few things to do; it's better to get thingsdone sooner rather than later."

"Alright, but take the butler with you," he replied.

"I'll be okay," Alice said, slightly annoyed. "Besides, Hans already has work to do. I'll call you if the doctor saysthat there's something wrong."

"I know I can't change your mind, so that's fine," the General replied. "I should be able to stop by for lunch."

"There's no need for that," Alice replied. "You should know by now that everything should be okay, and the doctor isalready aware of the situation, so it shouldn't take long."

After Alice's checkup with her doctor, she left the house, making sure to put her cellphone in her bag. Her first stop was near theedge of town, but since it was such a rainy day, she decided to walk, looking around at the city as she walked. She  
seemed to be the only person without an umbrella, but she didn't care; she loved the feeling of raindrops falling on her.

Once she arrived at her destination, she pulled her keys out of her bag and unlocked the door. "It's been so long," she saidto herself as she walked into the house. She turned the light on, revealing the living room of the house that Solf once lived  
in. She closed the door behind her, and then, unable to hold back her tears, she leaned back on the door, sliding down tosit on the floor as tears flowed out of her eyes.


End file.
